Tag: 100 days

Today marks President Muhammadu Buhari’s 100th day’s absence from office, having embarked on a medical vacation to treat a yet-to-be disclosed ailment in London.

As he was leaving the country on May 7 for the second round of overseas treatment, Mr. President handed the reins of power to his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who has since become the Acting President.

Because of his 100-day absence from office, Buhari has not only become the first incumbent head of state to have spent an extended number of days outside his domain, Osinbajo has also made history as the first Acting President, globally, to clock 100 days in office.

The world over, most office holders mark the first 100 days in office to showcase their modest achievements within three months of coming to office, and to also engage with the citizens to know their aspirations and thoughts about the office holder.

Buhari and his deputy have therefore made an unusual history.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s medical itineraries in 2017

19 January: Leaves for UK on “medical vacation”
5 February: Asks parliament to extend medical leave
10 March: Returns home but does not resume work immediately
7 May: Travels to UK for further treatment
6 June: Aisha Buhari says his is “recuperating fast”

Punch Games

Since entering office, President Donald Trump has used Twitter to issue declarations on everything from America’s geopolitical rivals to his personal feuds with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

As Trump prepares to mark 100 days in office this weekend, AFP looks back at 10 Tweets that have characterised the opening phase of his presidency:

America First

“We will follow two simple rules: BUY AMERICAN & HIRE AMERICAN” — setting out his governing mantra on January 20 after his inauguration.

“We must keep ‘evil’ out of our country!” — justifying his ban on travellers from a group of mainly Muslim countries, on February 3.

“What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into U.S.?” — reacting after the ban was subsequently blocked.

Friend or foe?

“North Korea is behaving very badly. They have been ‘playing’ the United States for years. China has done little to help!” — voicing frustration with both Pyongyang and Beijing over North Korea’s nuclear program on March 17.

“Why would I call China a currency manipulator when they are working with us on the North Korean problem? We will see what happens!” — Trump has an apparent change of heart towards Beijing on April 16.

“Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!”— Trump takes aim at German leader Angela Merkel, a traditional US ally, after a frosty summit in Washington on March 18.

The other guy

“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism! “–Trump accuses his predecessor Barack Obama on March 4 of wiretapping his Manhattan skyscraper during the elections.

“Don’t believe the main stream (fake news) media. The White House is running VERY WELL. I inherited a MESS and am in the process of fixing it”— defending his performance on February 18 after his first four weeks in office

Enemies of the people

“The FAKE NEWS media (@nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!” —letting rip at some of the biggest names in the US media landscape on February 17.

Hasta la Vista

“Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show” –– Trump reacts on March 4 to the departure of the “Terminator” star, an outspoken critic of the president and his successor as host of the former reality TV show.